“I thought becoming a priest was the best way to make this a better world.”
~Fr. Ben Urmston, SJ

Fr. Ben Urmston, SJ, Recognized for Peace and Justice Efforts by the City Council of Cincinnati

July 26, 2018 — Father Ben Urmston, SJ, received a
proclamation from the City Council of Cincinnati recognizing his efforts for
world and local peace and justice on June 27. Fr. Urmston serves as director emeritus of Peace and Justice
Programs at Xavier University and as chaplain of Christian Life Communities in Cincinnati.

"The Mayor and City Council recognize Father Benjamin
J. Urmston, SJ, PhD, for his lifelong contributions to the Catholic Church and
Xavier University, his conscientious work for greater peace and justice in our
world, his tireless efforts as an educator and community leader to ignite a
passion within our community for social justice and human rights, and his
unwavering encouragement for us all to live as men and women for others," read
part of the proclamation, signed by Mayor John Cranley and Vice Mayor Chris
Smitherman.

“I think we underestimate our need for one another. We need
to continue to engage in civil discourse with one another, to listen to one
another. We can make this city and world a better city and a better world,” Fr.
Urmston said after the proclamation was read at the City Council meeting.

Fr. Urmston has been a guiding force of peace and justice
issues for many years. He first came to Xavier University as an undergraduate
in1943 and then entered the Army. He was in Patton’s army in Europe and also in
the Philippine Islands. While in the Philippines, Fr. Urmston decided to become
a Jesuit and in 1946 he entered the Jesuit novitiate.

In 1971, he returned to Xavier University where he
became an instructor of theology, focusing his teachings on international
issues, human rights, and non-violent solutions to the problems of the world. In
1977 he began “Faith and Justice Forum,” a weekly radio talk show, which
continued until 2005.

“I thought becoming a priest was the best way to make this a
better world,” he said. “I instinctively wanted to rid our planet of wars and
poverty.” [Sources: City of
Cincinnati, Sos
Art Cincinnati]

August 21, 2018 – As we reckon with the Grand Jury report on sexual abuse by priests in Pennsylvania and the failures of bishops to protect the children entrusted to their care, our hearts and prayers—first and foremost—are with the victim-survivors.

January 17, 2019 — Let us pray in thanksgiving for the life of Fr. Eugene F. Merz, SJ, who was called to eternal life on January 16, 2019, around 5:30 a.m. Gene died at Zilber Hospice in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin. He was eighty-seven years old, a Jesuit for seventy years, and a priest for fifty-seven years.

January 16, 2019 — It was a homecoming fifty years in the making. In 2016, Fr. Casey Bukala, SJ, moved to the Colombiere Center near Detroit, where elder Jesuits live in community, receive the healthcare they need, and pray for the Church and the Society. It was not Fr. Bukala’s first time at Colombiere, however.

January 9, 2019 — Let us pray in thanksgiving for the life of Fr. John “Jack” R. Crocker, SJ, who died on Tuesday, January 8, 2019, at Colombiere Center in Clarkston, Michigan. He was 88 years old. May he rest in peace.